News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-12-22
MAKING FINE PORCELAIN.
AN OCCUPATION AT WHICH THE
JAPANESE EXCEL,
Shaping the Clay upon the Potter's
Wheel-Skill in Painting Porce-
lain-Small Wages.

Probably no country in the world pos
sesses such resources for the manufacture
of fine porcelain and earthen wares a.
Japan, says a correspondent of the Pitts
burg DiS1G ch. There are nearly three
hundred localities in the empire where
clay is found suitable for the manufac
ture of porcelain without being treated
to the add dition of foreign matter. Th,
| constituent elements of porcelain arr
chiefly silica, alumina and water.
The clays used by the japanese pot
ters are treated by being thoroughly
pounded under water in Founders which
are generally worked by hand. Afte
the earthly matter has settled at the bot
! tom of the vessel the water is poured OF
and the residuum is dried and storeC
away in the form of fiat cakes upol
boards, or as an impalpable powder il
boxes, the shaping is done for the mos
part upon the pOtter's wheel, the intro
| duction of which is attributed by tn
japanese to the Buddhist priest Clog
Ro satsu, born go, died 749 A. D.
The potter's wheel in vogue among the
japanese is exceedingly simple in its
construction. and consists of round
piece of hard wood we'll battened on the
under side to prevent warping and work
ing upon pivot set in porcelain eye.
The motion is communicated to the wheel
in most cases by the hand of the potter
himself. When other than round shapes
are required crude moulds are sometimes
used.
After the clay had been shaped upon
the wheel it is dried for a couple of days.
1t is then smOothed with sharp knife
and converted into "bisque' by brief
preliminary baking. 1t is then either
painted and fired, or glazed and fired, if
it is designed to be painted on the glaze.
The ovens are generally constructed upon
hillside, one above the other, with the
draft from the lowest to the highest, and
an arrangement for firing each kiln sep
arated. The consequence of this ar
rangement is that the upper kilns are the
hottest, and the ware which requires the
most insense heat is accordingly placed
in these These connecting kilns pos
sess the merits of economizing fuel, but
are not always well constructed, and
there is often want of uniformity in
the heat.
The japanese display great skill in the
painting of their porcelain and earthen
wares The blue color of the common
ware is due to the use of cobalt. This
ware is painted on the bisque before
firing. The more handsome and costlier
wares are painted upon the glaze and are
subjected in some cases to repeated FIR
ings. The oxides employed in coloring
are those of copper, cobalt, iron, anti
mony, manganese and gold, which are
mixed with a slicate of lead and potash
and baked at II low temperature, though
the oxides are also applied in some cases
iniuxed and baked at temperature
which fluxes them and produces the de
sired color. French and German colors
are beginning to be largely used.
I was at some pains to ascerta n tht
prices paid for labor in the clOissone anC
porcelain factories. The work is done b,
establishment or cEameIer receives from
so to rs cents per diem. The wages are
graded downward from these maximum
figures to those paid boys and girls en-
ployed in the simpler operations, who
earn from ten to fifteen cents day. But
the truth is that japanese tastes are
simple and wants few, and while from 10
cents to 81 per diem would be accounted
starvation wages in America, they in
reality represent very just and liberal
in Japan.
cannot better illustrate what l mean
than by relating an incident which oc
Cured in Toxic the other day. A friend
of mine was met and accosted by a
Swede, who insisted on talking with
him. "What are you doing here2" said
my friend II am working for japanese
who is in the iron business" What
are you getting?" "Four dollars
month" -Four dollars a month!
Why, man, that will not keep soul and
body together" "Oh, yes it will. l
have jolly good clearinghouse, and
get all the meat and fish and bread
want, and only pay So month"